The 137. Infanterie-Division was formed at Truppenübungsplatz Döllersheim in October 1940 as part of the 11. Welle (wave). It was disbanded in November 1943 after suffering heavy losses on the Eastern Front. The division staff formed the staff of the 271. Infanterie-Division and the remnants formed Divisions-Gruppe 137 which was assigned to Korps-Abteilung E.

Commanders

Generalleutnant Friedrich Bergmann (8 Oct 1940 - 21 Dec 1941)
Oberst Heine (21 Dec 1941 - 28 Dec 1941)
Oberst Muhl (28 Dec 1941 - 5 Jan 1942)
Generalleutnant Hans Kamecke (5 Jan 1942 - 12 Feb 1942)
Generalleutnant Dr. Karl Rüdiger (12 Feb 1942 - 25 Feb 1942)
Generalleutnant Hans Kamecke (25 Feb 1942 - 15 Oct 1943)
Generalleutnant Egon von Neindorff (15 Oct 1943 - 16 Dec 1943)

Operations Officers (Ia)

Major Wilhelm Meyer-Detring (5 Oct 1940-1 Jun 1942)
Oberstleutnant Hans Refior (1 Jun 1942-Nov 1943)

Area of operations

Germany (Oct 1940 - June 1941)
Eastern front, central sector (June 1941 - Dec 1943)

Nicknames

Bergmann-Division

Holders of high awards

Holders of the Commendation Certificate of the Commander-in-Chief of the Army (4)
- Kämpf, [first name not listed], Leutnant, Kp.Fhr. 3.(mot)/Pi.Btl. 137
- Kleditsch, [first name not listed], 10.09.1941 (300), Obergefreiter, 3./Aufkl.Abt. 137
- Noak, Karl-Heinz, 20.07.1941 (095), Oberleutnant, Pz.Jäg.Abt. 137
- Stier, [first name not listed], 29.11.1941 (546), Feldwebel, 2./Pz.Jäg.Abt. 137
Holders of the German Cross in Gold (34)
Holders of the Honor Roll Clasp of the Heer (11)
Holders of the Knight's Cross (8) (7 RK + 1 EL)
- Oakleaves
-- Noak, Karl-Heinz [63. EL] 16.01.1942 Oberleutnant Chef 1./Pz.Jäg.Abt 137
- Knight’s Cross
-- Brucher, Paul 23.10.1941 Leutnant Zugführer i. d. 3./Inf.Rgt 447
-- Kamecke, Hans 27.10.1943 Generalleutnant Kdr 137. Inf.Div
-- Koch, Erwin 28.05.1943 Major Kdr II./Gren.Rgt 447
-- Lehrkinder, Alois 03.04.1943 Feldwebel Zugführer i. d. 7./Gren.Rgt 447
-- Prchal, Johann 12.11.1943 Unteroffizier Gruppenführer i. d. 7./Gren.Rgt 448
-- Reichold, Otto 23.12.1943 Oberfeldwebel Führer Rgts.Pi.Zug/Gren.Rgt 448
-- Wurdak, Franz 13.09.1943 Feldwebel Zugführer i. d. 4./Div.Btl 137

Order of battle (1940)

Infanterie-Regiment 447
Infanterie-Regiment 448
Infanterie-Regiment 449
Artillerie-Regiment 137
Divisionseinheiten 137

Order of battle (1943)

Grenadier-Regiment 447
Grenadier-Regiment 448
Divisions-Bataillon 137

Sources used

Georg Tessin - Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht 1933-1945

Reference material on this unit

Wilhelm Meyer Detring - Die 137. Infanterie Division im Mittelabschnitt der Ostfront